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House passes fourth '15 appropriations bill

The House on Tuesday passed its fourth 2015 appropriations bill that would fund the Departments of Transportation as well as Housing and Urban Development despite opposition from the Obama administration.

Passed in a 229-192 vote, the measure would provide $17 billion for the Department of Transportation and $40.3 billion for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

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The bill, known as THUD, includes $15.7 billion for the Federal Aviation Administration and $1.4 billion for Amtrak. It would also provide $6.2 billion for Community Planning and Development programs, which would be $383 million less than the current spending level.

Last year's THUD appropriations bill was pulled from the House floor at the last minute after it became clear it did not have the votes to pass. Enough Republicans had objected to its steep cuts to transportation programs that the GOP couldn't rely on its party to pass the measure.

The THUD appropriations bill was brought to the floor under an open rule, meaning that members could offer an unlimited number of amendments. In total, the House debated nearly 70 amendments. Many amendments were considered late Monday night, with some getting as little as two minutes of debate.

"Considering our country's history and increasing diversity, we are late in barring profiling at the national level," Norton said. "At the very least, federal taxpayers should not be compelled to subsidize the unconstitutional practice of profiling."

The White House said in a statement of administration policy that it "strongly opposes" the legislation, but stopped short of a veto threat. It took particular issue with what it viewed as insufficient funding for homeless assistance grants and public housing programs.

The Senate has not acted yet on any appropriations bills, but is expected to start next week.

Next up on the House agenda for Wednesday will be the $20.9 billion 2015 Agriculture appropriations bill, which includes funding for nutrition assistance programs and waives nutrition standards backed by first lady Michelle Obama. The White House issued a veto threat against it, the first against a 2015 appropriations bill.